愚 (yú): to be stupid, to cheat or deceive, me or I (modest)
愚 (yú) is a Chinese character meaning “to be stupid.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 禺 (phonetic) and 心 (semantic). It ranks #1874 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 愚 heart. Its radical form 忄 (heart) appears in many related characters such as 忙 (máng, busy), 快 (kuài, fast, happy), 怎 (zěn, how).
Definitions
- to be stupid
- to cheat or deceive
- me or I (modest)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 愚 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 愚蠢 | yú chǔn | silly |
| 愚弄 | yú nòng | to make a fool out of |
| 愚昧 | yú mèi | ignorant |
| 愚人 | yú rén | stupid person |
| 愚笨 | yú bèn | stupid |
| 愚人节 | yú rén jié | April Fools' Day |
| 愚钝 | yú dùn | stupid |
| 愚昧无知 | yú mèi wú zhī | stupid and ignorant (idiom) |
| 愚公移山 | yú gōng yí shān | the old man moves mountains (idiom) |
| 愚鲁 | yú lǔ | dull-witted |
| 愚民 | yú mín | ignorant masses |
| 愚不可及 | yú bù kě jí | impossibly stupid |
| 先天愚型 | xiān tiān yú xíng | (old) Down syndrome |
| 大智如愚 | dà zhì rú yú | the wise may appear stupid (idiom) |
| 大愚 | dà yú | idiot |
愚 appears in 31 compound words: 77 as the first character, 19 as the last, and 3 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 愚 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
having great intelligence but appearing foolish; a man of great wisdom appearing slow-witted
to be resolute in one's endeavor, no matter what hardships one encounters
having great intelligence but appearing foolish; a man of great wisdom appearing slow-witted
to be resolute in one's endeavor, no matter what hardships one encounters
Example Sentences
这件事让我愚烦意乱，整夜都没有睡好。
zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ yú fán yì luàn , zhěng yè dū méi yǒu shuì hǎo .
This matter has left me utterly distraught, and I haven't slept well all night.
拨乱反正:日媒提问确实愚蠢
bō luàn fǎn zhèng : rì méi tí wèn què shí yú chǔn
Setting the Record Straight: The Japanese Media's Question Was Indeed Stupid
愚人节玩笑成真 |“新世代3系”发布前宝马...
yú rén jié wán xiào chéng zhēn xīn shì dài 3 xì fā bù qián bǎo mǎ . . .
An April Fools' Day joke comes true | Ahead of the launch of the "New Generation 3 Series," BMW...
美最高法院推翻对等关税 川普批荒谬愚蠢
měi zuì gāo fǎ yuàn tuī fān duì děng guān shuì chuān pǔ pī huāng miù yú chǔn
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the reciprocal tariffs, and Trump criticized the absurdity and stupidity
“维多利亚的秘密”前老板:我当初太天真、愚蠢、轻信..
wéi duō lì yà de mì mì qián lǎo bǎn : wǒ dāng chū tài tiān zhēn , yú chǔn , qīng xìn . .
Former owner of "Victoria's Secret": I was too naïve, stupid, and gullible:
汤姆真是愚蠢，是吧？
Tāngmǔ zhēnshi yúchǔn, shì ba?
Tom is so stupid, right?
天使畏惧处, 愚人敢闯入。
Tiānshǐ wèijù chǔ, yúrén gǎn chuǎngrù.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
你应该为你的愚蠢感到羞耻。
Nǐ yīnggāi wèi nǐ de yúchǔn gǎndào xiūchǐ.
You should be ashamed of your folly.
愚蠢是智慧的缺乏。
Yúchǔn shì zhìhuì de quēfá.
Stupidity is a lack of intelligence.
愚昧始终是危险的。
Yúmèi shǐzhōng shì wēixiǎn de.
Ignorance is always dangerous.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 愚 (yú) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 愚 and 偶?
How many strokes does 愚 have?
What is the radical of 愚?
What are the components of 愚?
What are common words containing 愚?
What characters sound the same as 愚 (yú)?
Is 愚 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 愚 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.